Xb500 Conclusion & XB600-XB800 review.

I'm seriously contemplating calling Sony and telling them to give a listen to the XB500's and the Beats studio pro and reconsidering the price because of how good those god damn headphones are. Maybe I'm just the biggest Basshead there is, hence my name. If you're thinking about getting these, but think beats or ATH m50's are better, you aren't "wrong", but you may be misguided, let me help you, take my hand and I'll guide you through the brotherhood of bass.

The comfort of these cans are insane. The bass has lots of quantity and quality. Mids and High's are a bit recessed, but with a little EQ...Should cost around 300-400. In conclusion, I think sony underestimates the value of this product and overestimates the value of the products in the XB line. They should just flip the prices. XB 1000 should be 50 and Xb700 should be 70 and so forth. If you've been waiting for the new XB line, xb600 and 800 etc., then you've been waiting for no reason. The new line is just adapting the trend being set by the headphones of present day generation; Fashion over Sound. XB800's are just a little improvement over the xb700 and the xb600 are a little worse than the xb500's. Why on earth did sony do this to themselves? I guess the xb800 is alright, but the bass is lacking in quantity. It's almost like a smaller version of the XB1000; same shiiit, different pile. No one can trust reviews though, this is my opinion and you have your own. If you have your doubts on being a true basshead, then stick with the ultrasone or beyerdynamic. Don't say I'm wrong, just tell me your opinion, because no one's opinion is wrong.

I often see these headphones recommended over the Beats Studios but to me the difference in overall quality is quite noticable. I have still not heard a set of headphones under $300 that combine the powerfull bass of the Studios with the clarity at high volumes........and anyone about to jump here to hate on them may I remind you this is not about reference headphones we are talking about BASS headphones now.....

I often see these headphones recommended over the Beats Studios but to me the difference in overall quality is quite noticable. I have still not heard a set of headphones under $300 that combine the powerfull bass of the Studios with the clarity at high volumes........and anyone about to jump here to hate on them may I remind you this is not about reference headphones we are talking about BASS headphones now.....

MDR-V55 are much better than my old studios, so are the Denon D1100. IMO

to elaborate slightly - the bass on the V55 is deeper whilst the mids are not recessed as they are in the studios , mids are not raped by the bass either.

The studios bass is nicer than the Denons but the Denons trump the studios in mids/treble.

Appreciate the info......but for which type of music are you referring to? I listen mainly to hip hop, reggae and dancehall and find the studios to have more punch than any other headphones I've tried with this type of music and that is what I am looking for plus the mids and highs sound good enough to me on the beats, they are also suitable for long periods of listening as they are very comfortable and the sound is non fatiguing. another thing I have found is they are much louder from portable devices compared to other phones where the sound starts to distort before the volume is loud enough and I'm not interested in carting around a separate headphone amp. The sound I get from the little sansa player using rockbox firmware with uncompressed audio (wav) is pretty impressive and the volume goes very high without distortion. I think this combination along with the design is enough to lure many people and you can't argue with the sales figures. Nonetheless I want to try out the MDR-V55's, these I take it are better than the XB500's as I was not so impressed with anything on those other than the bass. I know I'm setting myself up for a grilling raving about Beats headphones but to be honest I don't care they sound good for the type of music I listen to (which is not really suited to reference style headphones) and most of the other headphones I've tried just don't have the same impact....

Beats are good. They just get a lot of hate around here because of their price and advertising. They aren't amazing in my opinion though. There are better ones if you'd like to

sacrifice fashion for better sound. The bass on beats plus the clarity on the mids and highs are pretty close to the ultrasones or darth beyers.

It's just like people hating on rap for always talking about violence and drugs. Beats are like rap. Some people like the sound they produce, but considering older headphones(old school rap) like beyer and sony's xb line is more reasonable. Beats are good headphones, but not even nearly worth the price. I have yet to hear a pair of headphones that can vibrate my ears like the XB500's do. Although I have yet to explore the world of audiophiles. XB500 is no where near summit-fi and that is where i'm heading to on this journey to becoming a full audiophile.

I love many things about the XB50. Style and comfort are just insane. What I don't like is the amount of bass the XB500's put out. TOO MUCH! It's just crazy. I like bass as much as the next guy but it really over powers the song. If the highs and mids were a bit more forward it would even things out, but good lord is there some bass.

i don't know why you think xb1000 has less bass... it has more bass than anything ever... it may lack the punch but it goes lower than anything out there and rattles my brain like none other... the "punchiness" of bass is not all there is to bass...